What is a quarter-life crisis? A quarter-life crisis can be defined as the period of time during a person’s mid-20s when they start to experience intense doubts about their professional and personal life. At the same time they may also face challenges with trying to become a perfect version of what success means to them.

Discussions about race in America are at an all-time high. If you look on television or scroll through your Facebook newsfeed there is a continued conversation on race relations in this country. Thousands of opinion pieces have come out in the wake of the most recent Presidential election and hundreds of television specials are dedicated to the subject of race in America and abroad.

Lately, I have been pretty obsessed with the concept of "Why". Though this isn't a new concept to me, I have found myself asking the question, more often than ever before. I am also known for asking questions like, "to what end," or, "who cares." Although those questions are very powerful tools for motivating others and driving success there is something about "why" that gets to the core of not just the thing being done, but also the person who is doing it. 

Not all hair is created equal.

Hair in the black community has always been a controversial topic. Sadly, black women especially, know that the hair on their head is much more than, “just hair” and can be the target of oppression at work, school and many other places. In September 2016, Pretoria High School for Girls in South Africa was in the news because a group of students protested against the school’s hair policy. The school policy called for, “neat” hairstyles and forbid, “eccentric” hairstyles which equated to the black girl's natural hairstyles in the school.

Confession: I don't always have the popular opinion. As an educated African American woman, it is often expected that I will blindly fall into line with the perspectives of the communities that I belong to. That's not the case. Recently, I was told that I am a "contrarian leader" and after this last year, I have to say that I agree. I am often the dissenting opinion, but there is a good reason. I promise.

My name is Taryana Gilbeau and I am excited to join the Glass Ladder Group (GLG) as the first ever Program Assistant! I am honored to work in an environment where cross-cultural dialogue is at the center of everything that we do. I have worked in many organizations that simply looked at diversity as placing people who did not look alike in the same room. Unfortunately, they did not cultivate a space where dialogue and understanding were at the forefront. 

We are only half-way through Black History Month and I can already say with confidence that this has been the most publicly revolutionary and active celebration of blackness during our "designated month" in my lifetime.

In the last few weeks, public faces of the black community have openly taken a stand against the lack of diversity in Hollywood and the injustices against people of color in the United States and around the world. From Jada Pinkett Smith's call for a boycott of the Oscars...